Competitive Local Exchange Carries (CLEC)

Interexchange Carriers (IXC)Page 1

January16, 2009

To:Public Utilities Authorized as Competitive Local Exchange Carriers (CLEC) and/or Interexchange Carriers (IXC)

SUBJECT:2008 Annual Report to the Public Utilities Commission

NOTE:IT IS THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE UTILITY TO ENSURE THAT BOTH THE PAPER REPORT IS FILED WITH THE COMMISSION AND THAT THE ELECTRONIC FILING IS COMPLETED IN A TIMELY MANNER AND USING THE MOST RECENT REPORT FORM.

Pursuant to 35-A M.R.S.A. § 504, public utilities must submit an Annual Report to the Maine Public Utilities Commission (Commission). The Annual Report for the year ended December 31, 2008, is due by April 1, 2009. As permitted by 35-A M.R.S.A. §507, the Commission has established different reporting requirements for various types of telecommunications utilities. The Annual Report enclosed with this Notice is to be filed by utilities that are authorized to operate both as Competitive Local Exchange Carriers and Interexchange Carriers. If the carrier is providing service under only one of the authorizations, it should complete the parts of the Report that pertain to its service. Each reporting carrier must file a paper and an electronic (Excel) copy of the annual report with the Commission. Please note that the annual report is not a confidential document and will be made available to the public. If you wish confidential treatment of any part of the annual report, you must file a request for such treatment pursuant to 35-A M.R.S.A. §1311-A, including an explanation of why it is necessary to keep the information confidential. The Commission has not historically allowed protection for the information included in these reports.

Any request for an extension of the filing deadline must be in writing and must be sent to Lucretia Smith, Utility Analyst at the Commissionby March 30, 2009. For this purpose, an email is acceptable (). An extension of up to one month may be granted for filing of the complete report. However, because the Commission must complete its annual assessment preparation, which requires use of operating revenue information, by May 1 of each year, we request that companies file revenue information by the April 1 deadline. Utilities with less than $50,000 in gross intrastate operating revenues will not be assessed, but all utilities must report their revenues. If you do not respond by the due date, it is our intention to start proceedings to rescind your certification.

Page 1 requires the utility to report intrastate revenues which are subject to the Commission assessment; these revenues are defined in 35-A M.R.S.A. § 116 as follows: "For the purposes of this section, 'intrastate gross operating revenues' mean intrastate revenues derived from filed rates, except revenues derived from sales for resale." Thus, Revenues for Assessment are those intrastate revenues derived from the sale to end users of goods or services that are made under an approved tariff (or that have been detariffed by Chapter 214 of the Commission’s rules) or are made under a special contract that is subject to Commission jurisdiction. Wholesale transactions, in which the utility is the seller, are exempt from assessment. Those revenues are not subject to assessment.

If a carrier offers any services that generate jurisdictionally-combined revenue, it must indicate on its report the method it uses to separate the revenue for reporting purposes. Chapter 285, the Maine Telecommunications Education Access Fund, at

Section 2 (C) and (D), and Chapter 288, the Maine Universal Service Fund, at Section 4 (D) and (E), require that carriers employ an approved separations method for reporting any jurisdictionally-combined revenues to the Joint Administrator of the funds. Each carrier must use that same method for Annual Report purposes.

Although assessments are based on intrastate operating revenues (i.e., those subject to Commission jurisdiction), utilities also must report all revenue generated from operations in Maine for other regulatory and analytical purposes.

Pursuant to Chapter 710 of the Commission Rules, each utility must file a copy of its independent auditor’s report with the Commission by July 1, 2009, but it may request an extension if necessary. If the auditor expresses a qualified opinion or finds inaccuracies in the information contained in the Annual Report, the utility must file corrected pages of the Annual Report, and it must indicate what action it will take to prevent future misreporting or to correct any identified deficiency in its accounting systems.

Questions about the annual report filing requirements should be directed to Richard Kania at (207) 287-1379 or .

Filing is done through a one-page web process. You will be able to upload your annual report from this page as well. We have attached an instruction sheet detailing the process to access this web page and file your report electronically. You must complete this page regardless of your revenue level.

The Utility Contact Information Sheet, also available electronically on our web page, is necessary to ensure that the Commission has current points of contact for all utilities in the State. Please complete the form according to its instructions and return it to the Commission, to the attention of Joe Sukaskas, by February 16, 2009. Questions about the Contact Information Sheet should be directed to Joe Sukaskas or Amy Spelke at the Commission.

We have also enclosed an updated Contact Protocol containing procedures for all immediate notifications provided to the Commission pursuant to Chapters 130, 200, and 895 of the Commission’s Rulesand Chapter 2 of the ESCB Rules. Please distribute this Protocol to all personnel responsible for notifying the Commission about emergencies, accidents, safety or security issues, underground facility damage, or service-related failures or outages. The contact information attached to the Contact Protocol is confidential and should not be given out to the public.

Sincerely,

Karen Geraghty

Administrative Director

Enclosures